News: The toxic surface of Mars

The ASB’s Jennifer Wadsworth, along with Charles Cockell, at the UK Centre for Astrobiology have found that the surface of Mars may be even less hospitable than previously thought. When they exposed perchlorates (common compounds on the Martian surface) to high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation similar to the flux at the surface of Mars, they became bacteriocidal. This suggests that the surface of Mars would be even less suitable for life than previously thought. However, life may still find a home a few metres beneath the surface, where it would be shielded from UV radiation.